Golf is traditionally a difficult sport to learn. While a golfer can learn many concepts about a swing at a driving range, once the golfer reaches the golf course, it may be difficult for the golfer to determine why particular golf shots are traveling in errant directions or inappropriate distances. This may be because golfing on a course includes a number of factors that are not replicated at a driving range. These factors may include grass of varying lengths, hazards such as divot marks, uneven terrain for footing, uneven landing areas, wind, rain, and the like. In addition, while a golfer is improving his or her game, he or she may be less able to determine the selection of an appropriate club without feedback regarding other swings he or she may have taken.
In many instances, a golfer may have a habitual pattern to his or her golf swing. This habitual pattern may include a habitual error. While a golfer may be able to correct such an error while in a low-pressure and low-stress environment like the driving range, the golfer may be less able to focus on the error when in a more multi-factored environment, such as a golf course, where other people are playing in his or her foursome and there may be other golfers and obstacles on the course to navigate.
Certain patterns may emerge in such a situation that does not mimic the results of swings on a practice tee. These patterns may be unfamiliar to a golfer, and the golfer may be baffled about how to correct such a pattern while in a game situation. While other members of the foursome may be helpful to the golfer, it is also possible or likely that golfers at the same experience level may give the golfer poor advice on how to correct the swing defects.
Accordingly, it may be helpful to a golfer to be able to have access to objective data to be able to determine what errors the golfer may be making, so that he or she can correct his or her swing. It is known in the golf industry to embed a sensor to detect data relating to a swing into a ball and to transmit that data to another device, such as a handheld device or a remote device. It is also known in other industries to include a display on a ball of data sensed from a sensor in the ball, so that no other equipment is required. However, such a system has not been used in the golf industry, due to stresses on the ball and the force of impact a golf ball must endure. Displays commonly used for such applications are unable to withstand the force of impact of a golf club and, in some cases, with the ground or other obstacles on a course, and therefore, do not have the durability necessary to be used in golf applications.
What is desirable instead is a ball that is self-contained, in that a golfer may use the ball to determine his or her swing characteristics without having to purchase or synchronize other equipment. In addition, what is desirable is that the ball be designed so that the cover of the ball can function as a display to inform the golfer of the swing characteristics just by the golfer viewing the ball. In this manner, the golfer can have the desired information with no additional equipment to carry or purchase, while the ball has adequate durability to be played with conventional equipment on a conventional course.